Screen frame construction intended primarily for shade screens



Feb. 3, 1953 H. A. KAUFMANN SCREEN FRAME CONSTRUCTION INTENDED PRIMARILYFOR SHADE SCREENS Filed June 17, 1950 HARRY A. KAUFMANN GttornegPatented Feb. 3, 1953 ED ATES TENT OFFICE Harry A. Kaufmann, Detroit,Mich. assignor to The- Kaiifmannf Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application June 17, 1950, Serial No. 168,755

12' Claims. 1...

This invention relates'to metallic screen frame structures andparticularly to a type thereof adapted to receive screening'of thekinds, among others, illustrated in U. S; Patent No. 2,366,224, issuedto Warp January 2, 1945, in U. S. Patent No. 2,194,222, issued to EwingMarch 19, 1940, and in U. S. Patent No. 2319225 issued to Grebe andEwing May 18, 1943.

In the utilization of screen structures of the type mentioned above,sometimes referred to in the trade as sun screen, a serious problemhasexisted for a number of years in the provision of frame structurestherefor. Inasmuch as the structure of such screen" makes it moredifficult to grip than conventional, woven screen cloth, the use ofthese types" of screen structures has been seriously restrictedbythe-la'ck of adequate and satisfactory framing means. Somewoodenframing structures have been utilized with limited success, but,insofar" asI am aware, it has not yet been possible to make use oftheknown advantageous properties of metal frames with the type screening.

Therefore, this invention contemplates the provision of a metallicframing means which will be adapted for use with any kind of screeningmaterial, but which'isparticularly effective withthe screening materialof the general types illustrated by the above-namedpatents. With theframing means of this invention, these screening materials may be framedwith a speed comparable to that of conventional, woveuscreening and at acomparable cost. Thus, the cost of'framing' these new screeningmaterialsis greatlyreduced and their use thereby made much "morepracticable than it is at present.

Accordingly, a principal obi ectof this invention is to provide ametallic framing structure which will receive and hold tightly againstslippage or sagging various types of: screening materials andparticularly the types illustrated by the abovementioned patents.

A further object of .theinvention is to provide a metallic framingstructure, as aforesaid, which will also hold other types o'fscreeningmaterial with equal tightness.

A further object of the invention is to provide a metallic framingstructure, as aforesaid, whose cost will not greatly, if any, exceed thecost of present framing structures for conventional, woven screeningmaterialsi A further object of theinvention is to provide a metallicframing structure, a aforesaid which will prevent the slipping andescapi g r the screen panel from its tightly'held condition even if somedegree of sag does develop in said panel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a metallic framingstructure, as aforesaid, which will hold the screen panel firmly andtightly but will not cause such distortion of the louvres thereof as tomaterially injure its sun-shading elfectiveness even in the regionclosely adjacent the side elements of the frame.

A further object of the'invention is to provide a metallic framingstructure, as aforesaid, in which the framing structure may befabricated by the simple extrusion processes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a metallic framingstructure, as aforesaid, which will present a neat and attractiveappearance.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will become immediatelyapparent to persons acquainted with articles of this type upon readingof the following specification and the study of the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings: a

Figure 1 represents a fragmentary, broken front elevation view of acorner of a screen and frame assembly as. normally appearing from theinside of the building inwhich the assembly is installed.

Figure 2 represents a section taken on the line II--II of Figure 1rotated 90 counterclockwise.

Figure 3 represents a section taken on the line IIl--I II' of Figure 1.

Figure 4 represents a section of a modified form of the invention asappearing in a View corre sponding to that of Figure 2.

Figure 5 represents a fragmentary view of a further modification of theinvention.

In the following description, the screening material has, forillustrative purposes, been taken as that shown in the Warp Patent No.2,366,224, mentioned above, although it will be understood that'thescreening material of either of the other twov above mentioned patentscould as well be utilized. For convenience in reference, the term inwardshall mean inward of the building with which the screen is being used,which is upward. with respect to Figures 2 and fl, and outward shall.mean the opposite direction. The term centerwardshallmean toward thegeometric center of the entire frame and screenassembly, and .peripheralshallmean in the opposite direction. Each of these terms shall includealso the derivatives of each word thus expressly men'- tioned' Inmeeting the above enumerated objects and rpo es I .erp i e ramie se i ofy venient, extrudable material, such as aluminum, which sections aresidewardly grooved for thereaeaisii 7 spline, or more, be used, thesplines perform s veral functions. In the usual case, there will beprovided a conventional, round spline of rubber or vinyl, at the top andbottom of the screen frame which functions partly to give the screen thenecessary stretching vertically when it is being first placed onto theframe and partly to hold the screen firmly in place with respect to theframe. A second, or cover spline, is then applied and so arranged thatit is anchored at a point peripherally of the first named spline,extends across it to cover same and hide it from view, and engages thepanel with a substantial pressure at a point centerwardly of the firstnamed spline, and on an unbent part of the panel. A lip is provided onthe centerward portion of the frame element to receive the pressure ofthe cover spline. This spline provides a strong holding force applieddirectly to the screen panel and applied along all four edges thereofwhich holds each of said four edges against displacement. Thus, auniform appearance is provided all of the way around the screen and allof the parts are held sufficiently tightly to promote an attractiveappearance.

In modified structures, also shown and described, the two abovementioned splines are combined into single elements which perform thesame functions as the two splines above described, but the resultingstructures are somewhat less easy to assemble.

Where the two splines are referred to, the term holding spline for thecenterward spline and cover spline for the peripherally positionedspline, will be used for identification purposes only and with noimplications of function intended by such terminology.

Turning now to the several figures, only two elements of a frame areshown in as much as all four elements are identical. In Figure 1 thereare shown frame elements A and B which are cut, mitered and joined inthe usual manner. Each thereof comprises a body section 2 which may besolid but which preferably has an opening 4 therein. Extendingcenterward from the body section 2 is the screen-receiving section 6,having therein on the inward side thereof the screen-receiving groove 1and the auxiliary groove 8. A lip 9 extends further centerward from theinward edge of the centerward end of the screen-receiving section 6.

The peripheral wall In of the screen-receiving groove 1 is substantiallyperpendicular to the general plane of the screen panel and the bottom llof said groove is substantially parallel therewith. The centerward wall[2 is sloped from the'bottom ll toward the wall it at such an angle,here about 75 degrees, as to provide an undercut sufiicient to hold thehereinafter mentioned screen spline securely in position within thegroove 7. Thus, the wall i2 intersects the inward face It of the lip 9at an acute angle along the snubbing edge 35.

The groove 8 is spaced peripherally from the groove 1 such a distancethat the wall it between said grooves will have sufiicient thickness tobe of reasonable strength, but it may be placed a greater distance fromsaid groove 1, if desirable for other reasons, without affecting thepurposes of this invention. Said groove 8, whose walls are both parallelwith the said wall 10 of the groove 1, is preferably of less depth thanthe groove 1 in order to improve the strength of the parts.

The inward face l6 of the lip 9 is preferably in substantially the sameplane as, or outwardly of, the surface I! of the body section 2,although this can vary quite substantially without departing from thepurposes of this invention. It is desirable for a product of attractiveappearance, although not essential insofar as this invention isconcerned, so to locate the inward surface of said lip 9 that theentirety of the screen panel lies within the zone defined by parallelplanes including the surfaces l9 and l M of the framing elements. Theextremity l8 of the wall I5 is preferably disposed in a plane parallelwith and substantially intermediate the walls IT and 19 of the bodysection 2. and inward corner of the body section 2, there is located anoverhang or bead 26 which commences approximately at the last mentionedplane and extends centerwardly to narrow slightly the opening of thegroove 8. In the example here selected for illustration, the overhangpreferably extends centerwardly less than one fourth of the width ofsaid groove 3. Its inward surface is preferably flush with the inwardsurface [9 of the body section 2 and its outer surface is disposed at anangle of about 60 degrees to the general plane of the screen panel,although the angle will vary widely as shown in Figure 4, according tothe design choice without affecting the invention in its broader sense.

In forming a screen holding frame, pieces of framing are cut and miteredin the usual manner and assembled by the use of any convenient cornerelements, such as the right angular corner element 2| which fits snuglyinto the opening 4 within the body section 2. However, other forms ofcorner elements may be freely used or the corners may be welded, withoutafiecting the scope or effectiveness of this invention.

This will provide a strong and rigid frame and one which will supportthe screen material in a highly satisfactory manner.

In applying the screen material to the frame, the screen is cut to suchsize that its edge will preferably extend to a point near the mouth ofthe groove I and its end will be enabled to follow close to the wallsand bottom of the groove 1 in the top and bottom sections of the frame.The spline 25 may be of any conventional ma terial, such as a relativelysoft metal or a relatively stiff rubber or vinyl, and is preferably ofcircular cross-section. The edges of the material may need somepro-flattening to enable them to be bent in the proper manner. Normally,screen material made according to said Patent No. 2,266,224 will needsuch pre-fiattening and screen material made according to said PatentNumber 2,194,222 will not need such fiattening. With the upper and loweredges of the screen panel thus pre-fiattened, if needed, and the frameon a table with its inner face upwardly, the screen panel S (Figure 2)is placed onto the frame and the upper and lower edges pressed at leastpartially into the groove 1 of the top and bottom frame elements. Thereis some advantage in similarly bending the side edges of the panel intosaid grooves 1 of the side elements, but this is not essential. Thespline is then placed on top of the screen edges and pressed fully intothe respective grooves 1, thus pushing the panel edges fully into thegrooves l, stretching the screen tightly and locking the edges snuglyunder the undercut provided by the centerward wall [2 of said grooves I.This At the most centerward Y said centerward wall extending toward andterminating at a point spaced from said inward side; a fiat lipextending centerwardly from said centerward edge, said lip being spacedoutwardly from said inward side and substantially parallel therewith; alengthwise bead secured to and extending centerwardly from said outerwall adjacent to the inward edge thereof, said bead being spaced from aplane defined by the adjacent surface of said centerward wall; anelongated, resili-entangle member having one leg thereof resistablyextendable into said recess with the other leg extendable centerwardlyand engageable with said lip, saidother leg being resiliently distortedagainst said lip by engagement of the free end of said one leg with saidcenterward wall and engagementbetween said bead and the apex of saidangle member, said angle member being completely disposed between planesdefined by said inward and outward sides.

SQIn screenframe construction for holding a screen panel, including aframe member of extruded material and being of generally rectangularcross-section, said frame having an inward edge adjacent said panel, anoutward edge remote therefrom, and a first side and a second side lyingsubstantially parallel to the plane of said screen panel, thecombination comprising: means defining a first groove in the first sideof said frame member; means extending from the inward edge of said framemember and providing a hearing surface intermediate the first and secondsides of said frame member and generally parallel to the plane of saidscreen panel; means defining a second groove in said first side parallelto said first groove and spaced outwardly therefrom, the side of saidsecond groove adjacent said first groove terminating substantially inthe plane of said bearing surface and the opposite side of said secondgroove at its edge adjacent the first side of said frame member beingdisplaced toward said first groove in the portion thereof extendingbeyond the first named side of said second groove; a substantiallyL-shaped member having one leg thereof contacting the inward surface ofthe second groove and contacting same only at the innermost extremity ofsaid leg and said leg contacting also the outer surface of said secondgroove and contacting same only at the outermost extremity of said legand having its other leg substantially parallel with said first surfacewith one surface of said other leg being substantially fiush with thefirst side of the frame member and having its opposite surfacesubstantially parallel with and engaging the said bearing surface.

4. In screen frame construction for supporting a panel, the combinationcomprising: a substantially rectangular body part having an inward edge,an outward edge and first and second sides; a substantially Z-shapedportion extending from said inward edge of said body part and comprisingfirst, second and third bars, a first bar thereof being connected at oneend to said inward edge and adjacent said second side, and having itsfirst and third bars substantially parallel with each other andsubstantially parallel with said sides of said body part, the bar ofsaid Z which is most remote from said body part defining by its surfaceopposite that to which its second bar is attached a bearing surfacesubstantially parallel to the first side of said body part and spacedtherefrom toward said second side of said body part; a barrier extendingfrom the first bar of said 2 member substantially parallel with the 8 7adjacent edge of said body part and spaced there from; an L-shapedspline having first and second legs positioned substantially at rightangles with respect to each other, said first leg located between saidbarrier and the opposed edge of said body part, contacting said barrieronly at the ex tremity of said leg and contacting the said edge of saidbody part only at the portion of said leg adjacent the apex of said Land at a point on said edge adjacent said first side, and the second legof said spline extending across said bearing surface on the third bar ofsaid Z and being substantially parallel thereto.

5. In screen construction, the combination: cut and mitered frameelements arranged together to form a screen frame; one pair of oppositeframe elements being provided with a pair of parallel longitudinalgrooves along one face side of each thereof and said elements eachhaving a platform portion disposed centerwardly of the centerward grooveof each thereof, and the other pair of oppositely disposed frameelements being each provided with at least one longitudinal groove alongone face side of each thereof and said latter elements each having aplatform portion disposed centerwardly of said groove; a screen panelaffixed to said frame and firmly held to said first named elementsthereof; spline elements in the centerward one of said grooves of eachof said first named elements holding the opposite ends of said screenpanel against the respectively centerward walls of said centerwardgrooves; angular spline elements in the outer one Of said grooves ineach of said first named pair of screen elements and angular splineelements in said grooves of the second named pair of said frameelements, said angular spline elements extending across the centerwardgroove of the respective frame elements and pressing said panel againstsaid platform portions of each of said frame elements; whereby aid panelis held tightly and non-releasably at opposite ends of said frame and isheld snugly but movably at the sides of said frame.

6. In screen frame construction for supporting a panel, the combinationcomprising: a substantially rectangular body part having an inward edge,an outward edge and first and second sides; a substantially Z-shapedportion extending from said inward edge of said body part and comprisingfirst, second and third bars, said first bar thereof being connected atone end to said inward edge and adjacent said second side, and havingits first and third bars substantially parallel with each other andsubstantially parallel with said sides of said body part, the bar ofsaid 2 which is most remote from said body part defining by its surfaceopposite that to which its second bar is attached a bearing surfacesubstantially parallel to the first side of said body part and spacedtherefrom toward said second side of said body part; a barrier extendingfrom the first bar of said 2 member and spaced from the adja cent edgeof said body part; an L-shaped spline having first and second leg-spositioned substantially at slightly less than a right angle withrespect to each other, saidfirst leg located between said barrier andthe opposed edge of said body part, contacting said barrier only at theextremity of said leg and contacting the said edge of said body partonly at'the portion of said leg adjacent the apex of said L and at apoint on said edge adjacent said first side, and the second leg of saidspline extending across said bearing sure face on the third bar of said2 and being substantially parallel thereto.

7. The device defined in claim 4 wherein said bearing surface is spacedfrom said first side toward said second side a distance substantiallyequal to the thickness of the second leg of said spline plus thethickness of the screen.

8. A device as defined in claim 4 having a bead on the inward edge ofsaid body part adjacent the first side thereof and extending therefromin the same direction as said Z-shaped member.

9. In an elongated frame element for a screen frame, the combination ofa body portion having centerward and peripheral edges and inward andoutward sides, said body having a lengthwise recess in its inward sidenear to and parallel with the centerward edge thereof, said recesshaving an outer wall and a centerward wall and said centerward wallextending toward and terminating at a point spaced from said inwardside, a lip being positioned intermediate said inward and said outwardside and being substantially parallel therewith; a lengthwise beadsecured to and extending centerwardly from said outer wall adjacent tothe inward edge thereof, said bead being spaced from a plane defined bythe adjacent surface of said centerward wall; an elongated, resilientangle member having one leg thereof resistably extendable into saidrecess with the other leg extendable centerwardly and engageable withsaid lip, said other leg being resiliently distorted against said lip byengagement of the free end of said one leg with said centerward wall andengagement between said head and the apex of said 10 angle member, saidangle member being completely disposed between planes defined by saidinward and outward sides.

10. The device defined in claim 2 wherein said bearing surface is spacedfrom said inward side a distance substantially equal to the thickness ofsaid other leg plus the thickness of the screen.

11. The device defined in claim 2 including also a curved portion on thefree end of said one leg for pressing a portion of said screen againstthe inward wall in said groove and against the base of said groove butsaid one leg being free from contact with the outer wall of said grooveexcepting against the bead thereof.

12. The device defined in claim 2 including also a curved portion on thefree end of said one leg for pressing a portion of said screen adjacentthe inward wall into said groove and against the bottom of said groove.

HARRY A. KAUFMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,076,767 Johnson Oct. 28, 19131,178,581 Green Apr. 11, 1916 1,233,432 Worden et al July 217, 19171,238,747 Cramer Sept. 4, 1917 1,758,720 Sodergren May 13, 19302,042,726 Mueller June 2, 1936 2,312,721 Lang Mar. 2, 1943

